Imagine standing in front of group of people telling them about your awesome new idea. An idea for a business. But it’s not just a business idea. It’s an innovative new product. It’s a much-needed service. It’s your blood, sweat and tears. It’s all you’ve been working on for months on end. It’s your future. It’s your dream. Now imagine this group is an audience. A big audience. An audience made up of your friends, family, peers, professors and complete strangers.

For more than 50 companies at the Business & Innovation Showcase, Friday, April 5, 2013, was game time. Sponsored by BB&T and hosted by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, the showcase housed entrepreneurs from the Smith School, the university and the region. The showcase, which was held in a packed Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, also offered an element of competition: five $2,000 prizes were at stake and the competition was fierce.

College Park, Md. – April 8, 2013 – The University of Maryland’s Earth Starter, maker of the Nourishmat modular garden kit, took home $52,500 as the top winner of the eighth annual Cupid’s Cup. The first year as a national business competition, the event was held April 5 at UMD’s College Park campus, hosted by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Cupid’s Cup is sponsored by alumnus Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, the Baltimore-based leader in performance apparel, footwear and accessories.

The University of Maryland kicks off its 2013 “30 Days of EnTERPreneurship” this week on Friday, April 5 with the 8th annual Cupid’s Cup business competition, hosted by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

For business, entrepreneurship and higher education reporters, editors and producersContact: Greg Muraski, 301-405-5283, gmuraski@rhsmith.umd.edu  Under Armour’s Kevin Plank Serves as Sponsor and Judge

Crowd-funding your startup?

College Park, Md. – February 22, 2013 – Six startups advanced to compete in the April 5, 2013 final round of Cupid’s Cup, the national business competition held by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The annual competition is sponsored by Kevin Plank, CEO and founder of Under Armour.

College Park, Md. – February 14, 2013 –The University of Maryland’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship today narrowed the field of competitors to 12 of the country’s top student entrepreneurs in its annual Cupid’s Cup Business Competition, sponsored by Kevin Plank, CEO and founder of Under Armour. They will travel to Under Armour’s headquarters in Baltimore, Md. on Feb.

What does it take to be an entrepreneur? Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Maybe we should back up and start by pinpointing just what it does take to be an entrepreneur, especially one starting up in the Washington region. To find out, we went straight to the experts.